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Answers (7)
- Clay Branch, "Georgia Loans"
- Contributions:7836
Sometimes friends will give mortgage advice and not have a clue what they are talking about. 2 things for refinancing into a VA loan, you need eligibility and the property can not be upside down, that's all ( assuming you credit qualify ).
- Espresso911
- Contributions:1
Dear Zillow,
My wife and I would also like to refinance from an FHA to a VA loan to escape PMI. At the time of purchase we were told that because the house needed work that we couldn't use a VA loan. Later I was told by a friend that we could have done the work in escrow? It seems we are paying dearly for our education. I am qualifed and 20% disabled. Is this a possibillity?
Best Regards:
- jwswife
- Contributions:4
Not sure because we haven't been appraised since. At the time of purchace we were appraised at 20,000. more than what we paid and we put about another 20 into it with plans to stay put. If you can see my page you can see some before and after pics. Housing market if pretty bad here now but I still feel in my gut that we are on the plus side.
- Thomas Hall, "Tennessee Loans"
- Contributions:381
It sounds like your homebuying experience was quite and ordeal. I'm assuming you only put 3.5% down. How much equity do you think you have in your home now. Did you buy below market value? If you bought three years ago are you in a negative equity situation.
- jwswife
- Contributions:4
The house was a repo and needed a lot of work. FHA was our best choice at the time. Unfortunately because of some bad guidance we went a long way and wasted tons of time pursuing a 203K because we were told that was the only way we could get the money to do the fixes. Didn't find out till the 9th hour that since the home had a sink base with running water in what used to be the kitchen, that we could go conventional and use the money we had to do the fixes if we didn't put down anything. Thats the way we decided to go. Its a lot more complicated but thats the short version.
- Thomas Hall, "Tennessee Loans"
- Contributions:381
IF you are eligible for a VA loan then yes but I don't understand why you didn't use your VA entitlement for the purchase transaction.
- David Hoggatt, "Roseville_Broker"
- Contributions:471
There are multiple programs that you can use to refinance and get rid of your monthly MI obligation. It really just depends on what your home appraises for. Before you do anything you should research recent sales in your neighborhood to get an idea of what you can expect your home to appraise for. Then you should ask your lender what the requirements are for their loan programs and make sure your Loan to Value ratio meets their guidelines before you apply.
Is it possible to refinance from FHA to VA in order to drop PMI?
We moved into our home almost 3 years ago and got an FHA 30 year fixed at 5.25%. We planned all along to refi after a few years and looks like we can get some pretty good rates now. I know that you don't pay PMI with VA loans. Is it possible for us to switch and eliminate the PMI?
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